Why do console games still appear on CD (instead of USB sticks)?
Of course, there are also consoles without a drive today. There's such a version of both the Xbox and the Playstation - you can only play download games.
However, if you want 1 physical storage device for the game, I wonder why not just use flash memory (USB sticks or microSD cards) instead of optical media.
The functionalities would be the same as on CD, also with copy protection etc. (if you use an activation code). At the same time, flash media can't scratch and are otherwise less sensitive, take up less space on the shelf than these huge CD covers, and if set up accordingly, you could even store data on them.
In contrast to the download game, you could buy and sell used games just as you would with games on CD.
The consoles would also not need a huge CD drive, which would make them cheaper (like the Digital Editions) and more reliable because they (apart from the ventilation) do not have any mechanical components.
Why have flash storage media not prevailed over optical storage media as data carriers for video games?
How would it affect the production costs if one produced high-volume games (like PES or FIFA) on a USB stick or microSD card instead of CD / DVD / Blu-ray Disc?
I would compare it to a record that, unlike e.g. A tape, is only made for a single song.
Whereby you can simply transfer 1 tape over. USB sticks could be partitioned, then the game is in a write-protected partition; the rest could be used for scores or any data.
The production costs of a DVD / BR should be somewhere around a maximum of 1-2 euro. One can only guess where the corresponding, currently rapidly increasing, costs for a USB stick would be. But due to the current shortage of semiconductors, the games might even become more expensive…
A flash memory or the data it contains can be damaged by simply not using it for a long time. The CD is much more durable. And in addition, with the appropriate circulation, it is significantly cheaper to manufacture
PlayStation and Xbox games run on CDs. Nintendo's games, on the other hand, run on cartridges. You can see one in the photo. They are similar to a microSD card, so just what you want. It is a fact that these cartridges are more expensive than regular discs. Nintendo uses them anyway. Sony and Microsoft do without it. It's mainly about the money!
On the one hand, the production costs would be significantly higher because some memory with over 100 gigabytes would be needed
on the other hand, these storage media are also broken
The consoles without a drive have a completely different meaning they are intended as pure download systems and I honestly hope that this does not take hold
By the way, it is not said whether the case would be smaller watch a switch game
The module is tiny but the packaging is 20 times bigger
Because we had similar technology to the times of Supernintendo, the era of the cartridge consoles is long gone
Apart from that, you would need microchips for this and they are currently very scarce, which is why the Nexgen consoles are still almost not available after 6 months
That's not entirely true (I think). It all depends on the type of flash memory, doesn't it? There are some that last 10-15 years and there are some that survive longer than humans themselves. However, I'm not entirely sure…
Never had 1 Nintendo Switch cartridge in hand.
Are they really that much smaller than the bulky Gameboy modules (and the DS game modules, which were about the size of a normal SD card)?
By the way, it is not said whether the case would be smaller watch a switch game
How satisfied are you with your packaging?
We live in there now. With 3 other families.
On the one hand, the production costs would be significantly higher because some memory with over 100 gigabytes would be needed
Blu-ray holds 25 or 50 GB, what if the games themselves get too big for that?
You can't rely on downloads #DeutschesInternet, I don't want to download 1 week before I can play.
The new consoles are able to read Uhd disks on stretchy 100Gb and if the space is not enough it will deliver the game on more CDs, as was done in Ps1 times
I'm just realizing that I wrote "They look like a microSD card". Actually, a normal SD card was meant. Switch cartridges are roughly the same size as an SD card. I will upload a comparison picture in a new answer.
